The present invention relates to an information storage medium capable of recording and playing back a plurality of still pictures, a recording method and apparatus therefor, and a playback method and apparatus therefor.
Recently, digital cameras have been prevalently used as media for recording still image information as digital information. In a DVD that records and plays back video information as digital information, menu pictures and the like are displayed as still pictures.
In a digital camera, individual sensed still pictures are stored as different files. When each still picture information is saved as an independent file, the following problems remain unsolved.
a] Since still pictures are not grouped by similarity of contents or closeness of image sensing times, it becomes troublesome to manage and search individual still pictures.
b] As an example of troublesome management of still pictures, different files must be opened to check the contents of each still picture information, resulting in cumbersome contents checking.
c] When a plurality of pieces of still picture information are to be processed in a recording/playback DVD disc, which assures compatibility and continuity with a DVD Video disc to some extent, compatibility and continuity with the DVD Video disc cannot be maintained.
Therefore, the present invention has the following objects:
A) an improvement associated with the recording format upon recording still picture information on an information storage medium;
B) an improvement associated with the data structure of management information for still picture information recorded on an information storage medium;
C) an improvement associated with an information recording/playback apparatus which records still picture information and its management information on an information storage medium; and
D) an improvement associated with an information playback apparatus for playing back still picture information and its management information recorded on an information storage medium.
More specifically:
A) It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording format and a data structure of management information, which are used for processing a plurality of pieces of still picture information while assuring data compatibility and continuity of the recording format and management information with a general video scheme of a recording/playback DVD disc that assures compatibility and continuity with a DVD Video disc to some extent, and an information recording/playback apparatus that can implement such recording format and data structure.
B) It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording format and data structure of management information, which allows easy management and search of a plurality of pieces of recorded still picture information, and an information recording/playback apparatus that can implement such recording format and data structure.
C) It is still another object of the present invention to provide an information playback apparatus which allows high-speed access to an information storage medium that records a plurality of pieces of still picture information so as to continuously display a plurality of pieces of still picture information (continuity upon playback).
In order to achieve the above objects, a plurality of pieces of still picture information are grouped and recorded on an information storage medium, thus continuously recording the plurality of pieces of still picture information. In the group of the plurality of pieces of still picture information, at least two still pictures are continuously recorded at neighboring locations on the information storage medium.
Also, management information that pertains to the grouped information contains map information, which records information which pertains to each still picture information (e.g., the recording address of each still picture information on the information storage medium).
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.